Nov. 7, 2012

IU coach Tom Crean will have a far slimmer front court than originally anticipated for the early part of the Hoosiers' schedule. News came Tuesday that the NCAA had suspended Hanner Mosquera-Perea and Peter Jurkin nine games. / Photo provided by IU Athletics

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There are times I'm not sure what purpose the NCAA serves. There are times I wonder what would happen if the power brokers in college sports just got together and wrote their own rules of engagement and worked independently of that august organization.

Because in the NCAA's latest effort to flush common sense down the toilet, they've suspended IU players Hanner Mosquera-Perea and Peter Jurkin for nine games, pending an appeal that will likely go nowhere.

And why?

Because of bumper stickers.

One hundred eighty five dollars worth of Varsity Club bumper stickers.

Bumper stickers that were purchased between 1986-1992, well before these guys were born.

By now, you know the general outlines of the story.

Mark Adams, who ran the non-profit A-Hope organization, provided help to Mosquera-Perea and Jurkin, two overseas players who needed aid as they made the transition to the United States.

That is perfectly legal and acceptable by the NCAA's reckoning, as it should be. Adams helped two kids in need. Everything there was on the up and up.

The rub is, Adams and his wife spent $185 between 1986-92 on items like IU bumper stickers, thus officially establishing themselves as IU boosters for the rest of their natural lives.

Once a booster, always a booster, in the eyes of the NCAA.

And boosters, however they are defined, however much money they give to the university, cannot then be engaged in any kind of activity that involves recruits ending up going to the same school where they spent their money. Thus, IU is viewed as having brought in players who took improper benefits from an AAU coach.

Now, before we go on full blast against the NCAA -- and it's the easy, popular thing to do -- let's quickly say the rule is understandable. Let's say Mr. X gives thousands of dollars to Kentucky. Let's then say Mr. X is an AAU type who runs a foundation to help underprivileged or foreign kids get their footing in big-time college basketball. Then let's say those players somehow end up going to the same school where they have defined themselves as boosters.

Fishy, wouldn't you say?

If this involved John Calipari and that kind of cash, IU fans would be all over him as an inveterate cheat.

There's also this element the NCAA wants shared: They were very leery of the close, long-standing relationship between Adams and the IU basketball program, which entered into this whole equation. They point to the fact IU has agreed to disassociate itself from Adams for one calendar year.

The NCAA statement read, ". . . The booster also had continuous involvement with the Indiana University men's basketball program. In addition, the impermissible benefits occurred on multiple occasions during these student-athletes' recruitment."

I have no problem with suspending these players a game or two or three. The rule, which exists for a reason, is the rule, whether it's $10,000 in booster money or $200.

But nine games?

Nine?

And that doesn't even mention the fact these two players, who are typically cash-poor college students, have to reimburse a portion of the money they received from Adams in the coming years.

Can we please try to use a little bit of common sense here?

It's a life sentence for a parking violation.

The punishment doesn't fall within the same area code of the crime here.

Again, I get the thought behind the rule. You don't want big-time boosters establishing non-profits that aide overseas recruits. That opens a Pandora's Box, takes us down a slippery slope, especially when those boosters' players suddenly, amazingly end up at the school the boosters have been supporting.

But there are levels to this.

When did common sense go flying out the window?

And isn't the NCAA supposed to be there to support the student-athlete?

If you're wondering how all of this came to pass, take a glance at Waco, Texas, home of Baylor, the school that wanted Mosquera-Perea desperately. How desperately? A Baylor assistant coach, Mark Morefield, sent this text to LaLumiere High school coach saying they had the power to deport Mosquera-Perea if he didn't come to Baylor.

"I guarantee you if he does (commit to another school) he will be in Colombia for the spring and summer and next year," it read. "Don't forget it."

Right.

And it's IU that's in minor trouble with the NCAA law.

Go figure that one out.

Look, it's not all black and white and the NCAA, for all its flaws, is not always the bad guy in every situation. I understand something had to be done, and IU has acknowledged that by its self-reporting and its willingness to sanction itself. It just feels and looks excessive, especially the requirement these players pay back some of the money.

There's got to be a better, fairer solution.

Bob Kravitz is a columnist for The Indianapolis Star. Contact him at (317) 444-6643 or via email at bob.kravitz@indystar.com. You can also follow Bob on Twitter at @bkravitz.